Johann Sebastian Bach and the Lutheran

Chorale
Erinn Losness

Writers comment: Johann Sebastian Bachs use of the Lutheran chorale

is a broad topic that has already been researched extensively by music
scholars and historians. While it seemed a daunting task to add any
original ideas to the readily available wealth of knowledge, I gradually
discovered that most of the available sources focused on factual data.
For example, several books mentioned instances when Bach incorpo-
rated chorales into larger vocal compositions, but often failed to ques-
tion why Bach decided to place chorales in those specific musical
contexts. They also neglected to examine how Bachs musical treatment
of the chorale was unique and original. For this reason, I desired to write
a paper that was not merely accurate, but also interpretive. Many
thanks to Professor Jeffrey Thomas, who taught me that an understand-
ing of the text is paramount in uncovering the significance of Bachs
vocal works, and without whom this paper might have remained a dry
and inconclusive mound of stale facts and undeveloped ideas.
Erinn Losness

Instructors comment: During the winter quarter of 2003, I taught an

undergraduate seminar (Music 121: Topics in Music History), and
chose to focus on Baroque Oratorio: The Cantatas, Passions, and Mass
in B Minor of J.S. Bach, a rather broad topic to say the least. The
oratorio took its predominant shape as a musical genre during the
late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, even though its distant
antecedents occurred in the Middle Ages. In this course we studied the
history and definitions of the form, and applied those definitions
somewhat willfullyto the vocal works of Bach. It was actually my first
experience with an undergraduate seminar, and indeed my students
must have felt that they found themselves in a graduate level course.
Nevertheless, they responded to the challenges admirably, and inargu-
ably the student who demonstrated the greatest mastery of the subject
matter was Erinn Losness. Her final paper is a fine example of scholarly
analysis, and I clearly recall that her classroom presentation of it was
inspiring.
Jeffrey Thomas, Music Department

PRIZED WRITING - 47
ERINN LOSNESS

T
HE LUTHERAN CHORALE, which was initially created by Martin
Luther and his Wittenburg supporters during the Protestant
Reformation, has served the dual function of stimulating musi-
cal creativity and encouraging corporate congregational worship of
God for several centuries. One composer who was strongly influenced
by these simple Lutheran melodies and texts was the 18th century
German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. During his lifetime, Bach
not only wrote and harmonized simple chorale melodies for use in the
church, but he also incorporated the chorales into larger and more
complex vocal and instrumental genres. Some of these larger genres
include chorale motets, cantatas, passions, and organ chorales. In what
way was Bach able to achieve his goal of creating excellent church music
and to exercise his own unique compositional skills while using these
simple chorales in larger compositions? The following essay will at-
tempt to offer answers to this question by investigating the original
importance and role of the chorale in Bachs preferred religious de-
nomination, the Lutheran Church. It will also examine how Bach
improved upon the musical designs of his predecessors in order to
write chorale music that was both profound and glorifying to God.
Bachs predilection for incorporating the Lutheran chorales into
his compositions probably has more to do with the spiritual signifi-
cance and worshipful purpose of the chorales than with the simple
musical content of the melodies. This significance was established by
Luther, who above all wanted to encourage people to cultivate personal
relationships with God. Luther felt that the music in a church service
should help people draw closer to God by enabling the people to
worship God in song each Sunday. One of Luthers most important
reforms during the 16th century in order to achieve this goal was to
incorporate congregational singing into the church service. Writing on
the topic of congregational singing, editors Carl Halter and Carl Schalk
state that what was only tolerated in the medieval churchand then
only on infrequent occasionsbecame a central feature of worship in
the church of the Lutheran Reformation (Halter 17). Luther likewise
believed that the musical aspect of worship should be second in
importance only to the sermon and thus everyone, even laymen should
be allowed to participate. After theology, Luther thus gave music the
highest place and highest honor (Blume 10).
In order to encourage group participation during worship ser-
vices, Luther had to devise a musical genre that would be simple

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

enough for lay people and yet still be able to communicate profound
theological truths. Luthers solution lay in the development of German
congregational hymns that are known as chorales. The word chorale
can apply to the melodic line alone or the combination of both the
melody and text. Although each chorale contains its own unique
characteristics, most chorales are identifiable by some similar musical
and textual features. One of the most important of these features is the
use of the vernacular language. In order to encourage the understand-
ing and participation of the lay people, Luther replaced the traditional
Latin liturgical language with German. This difference is significant for
a number of reasons. It first and foremost allowed everyone in the
congregation to participate, and it enabled less educated worshipers to
understand the meaning of the texts. Chorales, therefore, were the
means for the realization of Luthers desire that people not merely be
present at worship[but that] their faith should erupt in song (Halter
16). The use of vernacular texts is also significant, because it changed the
musical style of the chorale music. The guttural German language that
is studded with many consonants demanded a different musical style
than the vowel rich Latin language. Liturgical music with Latin texts
often featured long melismatic passages and freer rhythms because the
vowels invited long prolongations of sound. German chorales on the
other hand often had to be set in a more syllabic style with fewer
melismas. During a church service, the chorales were originally unac-
companied and were sung in a monodic style. Lutheran chorale melo-
dies also commonly consisted of vocal lines that were restricted to a
tenth or less and featured few melodic leaps in order to facilitate singing
for untrained voices.
Bachs own creative use of these simple chorales that were de-
signed for amateurs may in part have been inspired by the philosophy
that played an important role in the development of vast numbers of
chorales. The emergence of Lutheran churches during the sixteenth
century led to a sudden need for many new chorales. In order to meet
this need, chorale composers often combined preexisting musical ma-
terials with original ideas to create musical works that communicated
subtle and hidden religious messages. Lutheran chorales developed
rapidly in the sixteenth century due to the use of borrowed sacred and
secular elements. Unless they were newly composed, early chorales
often consisted of new vernacular texts that were added to modified
melodies of Gregorian plainchants, Latin office hymns, German reli-

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ERINN LOSNESS

gious folk songs, and secular Latin or German songs. The word cho-
rale, in fact, shows the strong connection between the Lutheran
chorale and the Gregorian tradition. Professor Robin A. Leaver states in
The Oxford Composer Companions guide to J. S. Bach that the term
chorale indicates the plainchant origin of many of the melodies, being
derived from choraliter (applied to monodic unison chant) as opposed
to figuraliter (applied to polyphonic music) (Leaver 92). An example
of the link between Gregorian chant and the German chorale is Luthers
chorale, All Ehr und Lob soll Gottes sein (All Glory Be to God Alone),
which was based on the melody of a Gregorian liturgical chant (Gloria
tempore paschali for the Graduale Romanum). Lutherans also often
adopted religious German folk songs, which were already written in
the vernacular language, in slightly modified forms. One such piece is
Christ ist erstandes (Christ Is Everlasting). Chorale tunes were also
derived from some secular sources. Lutherans, for example, infused the
beautiful love song entitled Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen, (Innsbruck,
I Now Must Leave Thee) which was originally about a lover who had
to leave the town where his loved one resided, with a new spiritual
message. Building upon the commonly known text of the secular song,
the chorale composer created a new meaning by replacing the original
words with a text dealing with the topic of the Christians need to
exchange the world and its fleshly lusts for spiritual desires and hope
of a heavenly Jerusalem. The implied juxtaposition of these two texts
suggests that the world can be as attractive to a Christian as a loved one
is to a lover. Just as the lover eventually departs, however, the Christian
will eventually leave earth through physical death and thus should flee
earthly temptations. In return, he can anticipate the rewards of heaven.
As a result, the new Lutheran chorale was entitled O Welt, ich muss dich
lassen, or O World, I now must leave thee. Building upon the familiar
ideas associated with borrowed material, many Lutheran chorales
often carried double meanings and held profound truths for Lutherans
that are not understood today. It was perhaps this foundational chorale
tradition of intricate textual relationships that inspired Bach to create
some of his spiritually profound musical compositions through the
juxtaposition of chorale melodies with other poetic texts.
The texts of chorales, therefore, provided Bach with examples of
subtle ways to manipulate words in order to communicate subtle
religious truths. The melodies probably also historically served a
similar inspirational role, because they too served the purpose of
enhancing textual messages. Despite numerous musical sources from

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

which to draw melodies, some 16th century Lutheran chorale compos-

ers wrote original melodies. Leaver states that many of the newly
composed melodies were in bar form (AAB), commonly found in
vernacular narrative ballads, and Hofweisen (court songs) (92). It is
significant, however, that texts and melodies for new chorales were
usually written by the same person. This is because the tunes were
supposed to enhance the meaning of the text. Thus, from the beginning
the Lutheran chorale consisted of music and theology that were inter-
woven into one indistinguishable unit. Luther expresses this thought
by stating that the notes give life to the text (Schalk 72).

Bachs Lutheran Heritage

Bachs first exposure to these chorales, which blend religious
thought with melody, began during the formative years of his develop-
ment. This is evident, because Bach was born in a part of Germany that
was dominated by Lutheranism. He was also schooled in the Lutheran
faith from childhood. Bachs early education at the time probably began
in a local German school that focused on religion, grammar, and
arithmetic (Wolff, Learned 26). From there he proceeded to Latin
schools. Musicologist Christoph Wolff describes the education Bach
received at these schools, stating that Both the German and Latin
schools were dominated by religious instruction, with the Bible, hym-
nal, and catechism as the most important texts (Wolff, Learned 26). This
education would have caused Bach to become very familiar with many
chorale texts. Bachs excellent training as a church organist and boy
soprano in the Latin school boys choir would have caused the com-
poser to be familiar not only with the chorale texts, but also with their
melodies. It was therefore during these formative years that Bach
learned about the Lutheran faith and began to understand the meaning
and spiritual importance of chorales. This education was further rein-
forced by regular attendance at a local church where Bachs father was
a musician. In church, Bach would have learned about the Bible and
participated in the congregational singing of chorales. Due to this
religious foundation, Bach eventually developed his own personal life
goal of writing music for the church in order to glorify God.

Harmonized Chorales
The realization of Bachs goal to create well-ordered church music
for the glory of God required the frequent use of chorale texts, which

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ERINN LOSNESS

were essential to Lutheran church services. It could be argued that Bach

simply carried on with church traditions by placing these chorales in
their standard and accepted forms while contributing few original
ideas to chorale genres, such as simple four-part harmonizations. It is
true that Bach harmonized about four hundred chorales in a seemingly
conventional manner, but, in my opinion, these settings are highly
original and indicative of the composers originality and genius. Bachs
ability to take chorale melodies and infuse them with new significance
through tasteful harmonic choices is, in a sense, the perfection of what
the chorale was originally envisioned to be, an indistinguishable fusion
of words and music.
The style of hymn writing that is otherwise known as
contrapunctum simplex is characterized by simple harmonizations
in four or five parts. In this style of writing, the chorale melody or cantus
firmus, lasts throughout the entire piece in one voice in an uninter-
rupted form. The cantus firmus is traditionally found in the soprano
voice. The lower voices generally do not imitate each other or share
much melodic material from the cantus firmus. They simply support
the melody and enhance the meaning of the text through harmonic
changes. The need for harmonized chorales was great in the Lutheran
church, because by the 16th century it became typical for a choir to
introduce and teach new chorale melodies to the congregation. The first
harmonized chorales appeared around 1524 and were composed by a
Lutheran named Johann Walter. Walters versions preserved the origi-
nal rhythmic durations of the cantus firmus lines, but placed the cantus
firmus in the tenor voice in the manner of most Renaissance polyphonic
music. Untrained Lutheran worshippers had trouble hearing the melody
in the inner voice, however, so composer Lucas Oisander solved the
problem by moving the cantus firmus to the upper voice. This change,
in combination with Oisanders simple homophonic style of writing
allowed congregations to easily learn the chorales. While many harmo-
nized chorales during the 16th century were still fairly modal, Hans Leo
Hassler published chorale arrangements in 1609 that were much more
tonal in their harmonic structure. Other composers such as Michael
Praetorius and Johann Balthasar Koenig made important contributions
to this genre. Koenig, in fact, encouraged the use of the organ, and it
eventually became common for the organ, congregation, and choir to
alternate on different stanzas of the same chorale.
Bach did not radically alter this genre in any way; nevertheless, it
was Bach who perfected the harmonization of chorale melodies due to

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

the composers extensive harmonic knowledge and spiritual under-

standing. Paul Bunjes writes that Bachs contributions to chorale
harmonization lie not so much in original technical features of
composition, as in the infusion of an exalted spiritual fervor, derived
from the text and effectively expressed in the music (Schalk 76). An
example of this is seen in Bachs harmonization of Ein feste Burg ist unser
Gott (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), where Bach uses closely spaced
harmonic intervals to create the feeling a fortified wall that cannot be
easily penetrated or broken down. He also illustrates the phrase Der alte
bse Feind (the ancient wicked foe) musically through the use of an
unpleasant dissonance. The temporary tonicization of a new key dur-
ing this phrase also creates a sense of harmonic tension in order to
illustrate the spiritual battles of the Christian with this wicked foe,
Satan. The voice crossing in the tenor and alto lines during this phrase
could also portray the idea of the Christians inner struggles against
Satans enticements. During the phrase Gro? Macht und viel List (vast
might and deceit), Bach portrays the idea of vastness through the use
of compound intervals in the tenor and bass voices. The composer also
aptly illustrates the idea of Satans cruel weapons by shifting to a minor
key and ending the phrase with a chord that contains sharps. This chord
leaves the listener with an unresolved sound, however, because it
creates a half cadence. The half cadence could be symbolic of the fact
that although Satan may win a few battles on earth, Christ will ulti-
mately conquer him. This is evident, because the chorale quickly
returns to a major key and ends with an authentic cadence. In addition
to Bachs masterful use of the tonal harmonic vocabulary to express the
meaning of the text, his chorale harmonizations contain some common
features such as fermatas to indicate the end of textual phrases.

Chorale Motets
Bachs ability to infuse traditional forms with his own composi-
tional genius is also seen in his polyphonic treatment of Lutheran hymn
melodies. Polyphonic settings of chorales that are known as chorale
motets developed simultaneously with four part harmonizations. These
were originally modeled after examples from Netherlandish compos-
ers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and were characterized by
rhythmic and melodic imitation, smooth cadences, polyphonic tex-
tures, the use of canonic techniques, fugal style entries of voices, and an
equality of importance among the voices. Walter arranged some cho-

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ERINN LOSNESS

rales in motet style as early as 1524, and his pieces featured uninter-
rupted cantus firmus lines in the tenor voice. The other supporting
voices were polyphonic in style and texture. Hassler introduced Vene-
tian polyphonic elements in his chorale motets of the early 1600s. In his
works all of the voices exchanged the chorale melody in imitative
dialogues. This style of writing equalized the voices and virtually
eliminated the long extended cantus firmus line. Praetorius also in-
cluded elements of fugal motets and madrigals in his chorale motets to
achieve greater equality of the voices, detailed polyphonic intricacies
between the parts, and a freer treatment of the melody. His most
interesting contribution to the genre, however, was probably the intro-
duction of accompanimental instruments. By Bachs time, a typical
motet consisted of voices and continuo instruments. The texts for these
pieces were also based on passages from the Bible and from chorales.
Bach composed at least six chorale motets during his lifetime, and
are each testimonies to the composers creativity. Although Bach basi-
cally adhered to the traditional chorale motet form, he did add his own
touch by infusing his motets with more counterpoint and by appropri-
ately setting each the chorale texts. Four of Bachs chorale motets are
scored for two unaccompanied choruses, one is written for five voices,
(Jesu meine Freude) and the last employs only four voice parts, but is also
scored for organ (Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden). The most original of these
motets is possibly Jesu meine Freude. In this work, Bach sets the cantus
firmus almost in the manner of theme and variations. The chorale
melody appears a total of eleven times throughout the work, and each
appearance is slightly different. Bach was perhaps the first composer to
incorporate this variation style into a polyphonic vocal genre. Charac-
teristic features of Bachs chorale motet style include short syllables, a
paucity of long notes, frequent sequential repetitions of motives, and
numerous pitches within each beat. Bach often also applies ornamental
and instrumental treatments to each of the voices.

Bachs Use of the Chorale in Cantatas and Passions

While Bach set many chorale melodies in a manner that clearly
represented the textual message, I believe that Bach also included
chorales in larger works in order to continue the Lutheran tradition of
encouraging all people to worship God together. This is perhaps the
most evident in Bachs cantatas and passions. In these larger and more

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

elaborate works, Bach often employed chorale texts and tunes in many
unique and wonderful ways. In so doing, he not only was able to unite
the text and music to create double meanings and profound religious
messages, but he was also able to encourage untrained lay people to
silently participate in worship. Many lay people might have been
unfamiliar with the free style of poetry as found prevalently in Bachs
Weimar and Leipzig cantatas. They would, however, have known,
understood, and appreciated movements based on familiar chorale
texts and melodies. It was in the larger vocal genres that Bach fully
employed the use of the chorale, exploiting its expressive possibilities
as well as its textual significance. In these works, chorales can be found
in extremely diverse and elaborate settings as well as in simple arrange-
ments. Chorale melodies can be found in instrumental parts, in solo
voices, and most frequently in choral movements.
It is extremely significant that Bach frequently placed the chorale
tunes in choral settings, because the melodies were originally created to
allow congregations to worship God as a collective body. In scoring the
chorales for a full vocal range, Bach was perhaps encouraging all
listeners to participate in worship in the quiet of their own hearts. This
is especially suggested by several of the chorales in the passions. In
these musical representations of Christs suffering, Bach often used
chorale settings to represent collective groups of people, and especially
the Christian church. The first movement of the Saint Matthews Passion,
for example, contains a chorale melody that appears in the soprano
voice on top of elaborate choral polyphony. The text of this chorale
expresses the prayer and anguished cry of a crowd of people. In this
instance the crowd is probably composed of Christians, because the text
acknowledges Christ as the Savior. The text says:
O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig
Am Stamm des kreuzes geschlachtet
Allzeit erfunden geduldig
Wiewohl du warest varachtet
Ah Snd hast du getragen
Sonst m?ten wir verzagen
Erbarm dich unser, o Jesu!

(O Lamb of God, most holy,

The bitter Cross undergoing,
O Saviour, meek and lowly,

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ERINN LOSNESS

Despite scorn and only knowing,

The sins of Man Thourt bearing,
Else were we left despairing.
On us have mercy, O Jesus!)
Bach, Passion ii
By association of the four-part chorus, the significance of the text,
and the chorale cantus firmus, it is highly probable that listeners would
have associated with the music and possibly have been drawn to
silently worship God.
Bach also encouraged corporate worship not only through the
symbolic representation of groups of people, but also through his
method of scoring the melodies. In larger works, Bach frequently set
choral chorale movements in two diverse styles. One of these styles was
a simple four-voiced hymn-like harmonization and the other was a
more elaborate polyphonic setting. The hymn-like settings occur fre-
quently in Bachs passions as well as the Weimar and Leipzig cantatas.
In the Weimar cantatas, chorales often appear in the last movement and
serve the textual purpose of summarizing the entire libretto in order to
reinforce the message of the sermon or Scripture of the day. Cantata
BWV 18 Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fllt (As the Rain
and Snow from Heaven fall), for example, has a text by Erdmann
Neumeister that deals with the importance of Gods word in the life of
a Christian. The text is based on the Parable of the Sower from Luke,
chapter eight. In the cantata, the final chorale movement summarizes
the textual message by expressing the importance of Gods Word in
leading to salvation and delivering the Christian from sin. Such a
simple musical summary would serve the purpose of reminding a
congregation of the meaning of the text in a straightforward manner,
without the distractions of ornate music. In these settings instruments
usually enhance the simplicity of the music by doubling voice parts. It
is also quite possible that Bach intended the congregation to join in and
sing during the final chorale movements.
Another way that Bach probably encouraged corporate worship of
God in larger works was by placing familiar chorale melodies in a
cantus firmus style above elaborate polyphony. The underlying voices
could be vocal lines, instrumental parts, or combinations of both. Thus,
even though the music itself was extremely ornate and complex,
untrained listeners could easily have heard and appreciated the mes-

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

sage of the chorale text. Each movement in this style varied widely in
treatment in order to portray the meaning of the text. An example of this
type of chorale setting is found in the seventh movement of Cantata
BWV 182. This kind of treatment of the voices seems to portray the idea
of a soul walking on a bed of roses, as the text describes. Perhaps the
soul is represented by the cantus firmus line and the underlying bed
of roses is illustrated by polyphony that when dissonant evokes
images of the roses thorns and when consonant creates thoughts of
beautiful and fragrant roses.
While choral scoring of chorale tunes could possibly have invoked
a sense of corporate worship, Bachs settings of chorale melodies in aria
movements could have inspired people to worship God due to the
meaningful combinations of both the sung and implied texts. In these
aria settings, Bach often created double textual meanings through the
association of two texts. A common occurrence in Bachs cantatas is the
instrumental representation of a chorale tune that occurs while the
soloist sings a related poetic or Biblical text. In these arias, the chorale
melodies can be in simple cantus firmus styles or can be highly frag-
mented. They can also be ornately embellished and be performed by
diverse types of instruments. What is most significant, however, is the
way that Bach combines the stated and unstated texts to create deeper
meanings. In the sixth movement of Cantata BWV 12, for example, the
tenor sings an aria with a poetic text about being steadfast in the midst
of trials. The librettist uses metaphors from nature to illustrate these
truths. He likens trials to stormy tempests that seem terrible at the time,
but that in the end help to create beautiful new flowers. In this instance,
the flowers are symbolic of eternal rewards that will only come as a
result of faithfulness. A similar sentiment is echoed in the instrumental
chorale tune that occurs simultaneously, Jesu, meine freude. The text of
the chorale claims that Christ is to be the Christians delight in the same
way a bride desires a bridegroom. In desiring Christ a Christian is
sheltered from the attacks of Satan. Thus taken together the texts reveal
that when Christians take pleasure in Christ, they will gain the strength
and protection needed to stand firm against Satan and, as a result, will
earn heavenly rewards. In the first movement of cantata BWV 161, the
organ also plays a chorale melody while the alto sings a text based on
the sweetness of meeting Christ after physical death. The text of the
chorale tune incorporated into the organ part speaks of the physical
destruction of the body before eternal glory. Thus the movement

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ERINN LOSNESS

presents a double message about the two aspects of humans, their

limited physical life and their eternal spiritual state.

Organ Chorales
Bachs ability to compose original music using chorale melodies is
seen not only in Bachs vocal works, but also in his instrumental works.
Some of Bachs elaborate pieces for the organ served the dual purpose
of displaying virtuosic skill while still being suitable for worship in a
church setting. These organ pieces, known as organ chorales, represent
some of Bachs greatest and most varied instrumental works. Organ
chorales are pieces that employ either an entire chorale melody or part
of a melody at anytime during the composition. Many of these chorales
served the purpose of introducing a congregation to a new chorale
melody, yet they were often highly virtuosic in character. The pieces
portrayed textual or liturgical meaning while exploiting the capabilities
of the organ. Bachs organ chorales can be classified into several forms.
These include the chorale motet form, the choral fantasia form, and the
chorale fughetta form. The chorale motet style is characterized by
imitative lines whereas the fantasia form is more virtuosic in style with
rapid runs and arpeggios. Perhaps it was most frequently in this form
that Bach greatly expanded the use of the pedals. Fugal or fughetta
styles employ imitation in the motet style, but with the absence of a
conspicuous cantus firmus.
Organ chorales also exist in variation and prelude forms. The
chorale variation or Partita style only fascinated Bach at the beginning
and end of his career, and pieces in this style may have been used as
interludes in Arnstadt and Mlhausen between different stanzas of a
chorale. Perhaps it was these elaborate and wonderful compositions
that elicited criticism from church authorities and were responsible for
the complaint that Bach was inserting strange notes (Butt, page 344)
into the chorales. In the variations, Bach usually employed diverse
moods, textures, and treatments of a chorale melody to create variety.
Chorale preludes are found in both short and long versions. The short
versions employ a wide variety of treatments of the chorale. These
include putting the melody in the alto voice, creating a chorale fantasia,
and ornamenting the chorale. Short preludes are found predominantly
in a book called the Orgel-Bchlein. Longer preludes include cantus
firmus melodies, invention, trio, and ritornello forms, canon and con-
trapuntal styles, and long ornamental chorale melodies.

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 JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH AND THE LUTHERAN CHORALE

Throughout his life, Bach wrote many compositions that were

based on Lutheran chorales. Although it could be argued that the use
of these chorales limited Bachs creative resources and forced him to
spend countless hours composing in old-fashioned or traditional styles,
I personally believe that the chorales inspired Bach to compose some of
his most profound compositions. Within the structure of traditional
forms and genres, such as the motet, Bach was able to express his own
genius. Rather than being constraining or confining, the structure of the
forms freed Bach to focus on the most important aspects of Lutheran
music, such as the relationships between textual and musical content
and the significance of the music for an untrained listener. Bach thus
was successful in his role as a church composer not because he did
anything radically different than his predecessors, but because he
perfected the musical forms that others initiated.

Works Cited
Ambrose, Z. Philip. Texte zu den Kirchenkantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (The
texts to Johann Sebastian Bachs church cantatas). Norwich: Thames Publish-
ing, 1984. http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/ 15 February 2003
Bach, Johann Sebastian. 371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with
figured bass. Ed. Albert Riemenschneider. G. Schirmer, 1941.
-. The Passion of our Lord, According to S. Matthew. Trans. Rev. Dr. Troutbeck.
London: Novello and Company, 1894.
-. The Bach Cantatas Original Texts (German). http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/
~wfb/bach.html 22 February 2003.
Blume, Friedrich. Protestant Church Music, A History. New York: W. W. Norton
& Company, 1974.
Boyd, Malcolm, ed. Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1999.
Butt, John. Organ Chorale. In Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach, ed.
Malcolm Boyd. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. 344-347.
Halter, Carl and Carl Schalk, ed. A Handbook of Church Music. St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1978.
Leaver, Robin A. Chorale. In Oxford Composer Companions: J. S. Bach, ed.
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